1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an exercise and therapy device of the treadmill type. More specifically, the present invention relates to an exercise tank having an underwater treadmill for exercise and therapy as the user walks against the resistance of water in the tank and is buoyed to reduce jarring.
2. Prior Art
Hansen Canadian Pat. No. 1,201,342, issued Mar. 4, 1986, and the U.S. patents listed below disclose water tanks or pools for bathing or exercising horses:
Paris U.S. Pat. No. 2,611,341, issued Sept. 23, 1952; PA1 Scanlon U.S. Pat. No. 3,485,312, issued Dec. 23, 1969; PA1 Leonaggeo, Jr., U S. Pat. No. 4,183,329, issued Jan. 15, 1980; PA1 Brazelton U.S. Pat. No. 4,197,815, issued Apr. 15, 1980; and
Davis U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,217, issued June 1, 1982. Of these, the Hansen Canadian patent and the Scanlon and Davis U.S. patents disclose underwater treadmills.
There has been at least one prior attempt to provide a tank with an underwater treadmill for exercise and therapy of humans, namely, the tank advertised under the trademark AQUACISER by D. L. Hansen, Inc., of St. Charles, Il.